WFP struggles to feed 80,000 displaced in north

WFP has launched a second emergency food distribution in the northern provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar in a bid to feed some of the 80,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) there. Khaled Mansour, WFP regional information officer for Afghanistan, told IRIN on Thursday that the conditions of the IDPs were deteriorating and “their already meagre assets” were disappearing fast. Food trucks were heading for Fustaq, Khoja Bahauddin, Dashti Qala and Yangi Qala in Takhar province, carrying more than 900 mt of wheat for some 9000 families, the largest concentration of IDPs in the region, he said. The programme began on Sunday in Faizabad, capital of Badakhshan province, where some 1200 families were displaced. Mansour told IRIN that WFP was also screening IDPs in Keshem district where 1,088 displaced families were located. Each family would receive 100 kg of wheat, he said. “The situation in Dashti Qala is compounded by the effects of the drought. This area is largely rain-fed and therefore support from the local population is meagre. WFP plans to help 10,000 IDPs there but the conflict near the area is hampering our efforts. There are reports of IDPs fleeing from there further west because of the fighting,” Mansour added.